


Forever Young

by RoswellNewMalexico (Loyalty2WayStreet)



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Blair Witch Movie, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Halloween, Inspired by E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Malex are kids, Skeleton Scavenger Hunt, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-02 21:22:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21168080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loyalty2WayStreet/pseuds/RoswellNewMalexico
Summary: Kyle's birthday falls on Halloween, and he invites a few kids from his class over for a spooky sleepover.





	Forever Young

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween Roswell NM! X
> 
> This little fic is set when Michael and Alex are nine years old. There's plenty of boys being boys, but there's also a beautiful friendship blossoming.

Michael isn't a popular kid at school. He's quiet, studious and keeps to himself, scared to death of opening up to anyone for fear that they might find out what he really is. 

On the Monday before Halloween, Kyle slaps an envelope against his chest with a grunted greeting. It’s a birthday party/Halloween invitation, for a sleepover at the Valenti house. Michael's not sure why he made the invite list; maybe Mr Valenti feels sorry for him? His current foster parents make him walk the 5 miles to and from school, and much to Kyle’s apparent dismay, Mr Valenti will often stop and give him a lift most of the way home. So, he concludes it must be a pity invite.

He asks Max later if he’s going. He'd rather not go by himself, he doesn’t know anyone all that well, except Kyle, and that’s the opposite of comforting. The whole Evans family are travelling to Texas for a mini-break that weekend, so Michael’s stuck going by himself. Max is kind enough to give him enough money to buy Kyle a comic book as a present.

On the night of the party, Michael’s the first to arrive. His foster mum drops him a full half an hour early so she can go gambling with her girlfriends. He helps out in the kitchen, by making popcorn, and putting candy into bowls until the other boys start to arrive.

The Valenti’s must be all sorts of crazy, to have agreed to eleven rowdy nine-year-old boys in their home for the night. They set-up their sleeping bags in the den, facing the television. Alex, a boy he used to play in the school's fort with until Kyle told him it was uncool, unrolls his sleeping bag next to him and gives him a lopsided grin. Michael had always liked Alex, he is similarly reserved, and always shared his crisps when they’d played together.

The mood is light and fun as the sun sets outside. Popcorn has already begun to be used as entertainment rather than food, with dozens of pieces sailing through the air. Alex pulls a bit out of Michael’s hood, throws it in the air and catches it easily with his mouth. Mrs Valenti is spreading out bowls of crisps, as Kyle announces that they must all vote on which horror movie they should watch. The Blair Witch wins by a country mile, with only one kid denouncing it as lame, and claiming that he's already seen it twice. Michael loves scary movies, but by the slow rise of Alex's hand, as it follows the majority up into the air, he doubts he's as enthusiastic.

As the group of filmmakers start their search for the witch, the boys are sitting on their sleeping bags, hurling macho insults about who will be a scaredy-cat and cry to their mummies. But as the movie progresses, and the mystery intensifies, they all seem to huddle into a group, almost as if no-one wants to be on the outer for fear the witch would get them. There is deathly silence in the last twenty minutes. As the terror and dread of the characters crescendo's, there are a few kids not so subtly closing their eyes. It's a confusing ending, with no real answers, but Michael's pulse is flying. There are collective whispers of 'Wow’, ‘Cool’ and ‘That was epic.' Alex mentions that he never wants to watch a film shot by a camera running through a forest again, as he's a little nauseous. When Mr Valenti yells, 'boys!' from behind them, they all jump.

They move to the kitchen and scoff down some homemade woodfired pizza's while Mr Valenti gives them a rundown on the next activity, a skeleton scavenger hunt. It involves them all going outside, in the dark after watching that movie. Mr Valenti explains that six different coloured skeletons have been hidden outside in pieces and that they'll be sent off to find them in pairs. Michael does the math and cringes; he’s going to be the odd kid out and paired with Kyle’s mum. Only that doesn’t happen. When asked to form pairs, Alex taps him on the shoulder and shrugs by way of an invitation. The most obnoxious kid at school, Wyatt is the odd one out and immediately starts grandstanding about how he will win by himself, and he didn't need anyone's help, and that the rest of them are babies. Kyle's dad escorts him outside and reminds him that Kyle's mum has keys to the police station, and she'd be happy to give him a tour.

He and Alex get the green skeleton and a torch to share. After a reiteration of the rules, including the boundaries of the search, eleven kids hyped up on sugar, run screaming out into the night. What could go wrong?

Michael is still running full tilt in god knows what direction, when Alex catches his arm, "Wait, stop!" He puffs out a cold breath, and Michael stops turning back with the torch illuminating his face from below. Alex elbows him in the ribs, "We need a plan." Nearby they hear someone yell, "Found it!" followed by loud yahooing.

"Let's head to the boundary, and work our way back?" Michael suggests bouncing on his toes, ready to go. Alex looks in that direction uncertainly but after a moment of deliberation follows Michael regardless. The Valenti property is vast, and while they can hear the other kids and see the lights of the main building, they must be nearly a kilometre away when they reach the properties fence. 

Alex's anxiety peaks as Michael moves the torchlight over an eerie-looking low hanging branch of a pine tree, and something rustles in the thick bushes beside them. He backs up until he bumps into Michael, who turns around to check out where the rustling is coming from.

A hare springs from the offending bush and bolts through the fence, making them both jump. "Oh, God!" Michael says, half laughing as he props his arm on Alex's shoulder, "Halloween, hey?" Alex is still trying to slow his breathing down, but laughs along, ever so slightly hysterically. "Let's get out of here," he suggests, and Michael couldn't agree more. They follow the fence-line for another minute before they find six different coloured plastic skulls, pegged to the fence.

"Yes!" Alex whispers as Michael un-pegs the green skull. Michael grins at him, and they share an enthusiastic fist bump. "First team here, baby!" 

To their right, the weak light of a torch hits a nearby tree, followed by someone loudly asking, "what about over there?"

Michael turns the torch off, not wanting to give away their position and they amble, shoulder to shoulder away from the fence. "You know Kyle's property best," Michael deduces, "where else should we look?" Alex thinks a minute, he and Kyle have grown up playing all over this property, and it's not like Mr Valenti is going to put bits of skeleton just anywhere.

"The shed," Alex realises, "It's on the far side of the property, I reckon we'll find something there." Michael flicks the torch back on, and they run as fast as their legs will carry them toward the shed, avoiding divots and bushes as they go. As they near the shed, they realise they're not the only ones who've had that idea. Kyle and his partner Jonny are running out from behind the shed, holding what looks like a torso. Kyle runs over and pulls the head out of Alex's hand. "Sweet, you found the head, the body is behind the shed," he brags, "so how about you point me in the direction of the head?" Michael snatches the head back off Kyle. Alex sighs, "It's somewhere along the back fence," he admits. Michael gives him a look that says 'Traitor' as Kyle runs off with a 'thanks, dude.'

"We can still win," Alex reasons as he runs toward the back of the shed, "he's got a whole fence line to check!" Michael follows him a little grumpily, but his mood brightens when he sees the skeleton bodies hanging against the shed's exterior. "Just arms and legs to go!" Michael's excited, as he guesses they're either in the lead or equal second. "Come on," Alex says, grabbing him by the wrist, "I have another idea of where a bone might be hiding." Michael goes willingly, and they race toward the giant oak tree in the middle of the property that Alex remembers having a hollow you could hide in.

Alex is spot on, though not in the way he thought he was going to be. There's nothing in the hollow of the tree. But, about two and a half metres up, and just out of arms reach, hangs an arm and leg bone for every skeleton except the red one. They're not the first ones to find this spot, and the only way to get to it is either; climb the tree, or one of them gives the other a boost up to it.

'You're lighter, I'll put you on my shoulders," Alex directs before Michael can gather his thoughts. Alex is right, of course, it makes the most sense time-wise, he just didn't envision piggyback rides with people he hardly knew factoring into his night. Then again, Alex had been kind enough to save him from the embarrassment of being the un-chosen kid. With a sigh, he mounts his shoulders. He places a hand on Alex's forehead; the other clings to the front of his shirt as Alex wobbles ungracefully to a standing position.

Once Alex is standing, Michael can shift his weight around slightly, so it's much easier to balance. Alex slaps his shin to get his focus, "Ready to move?"

"Uh-huh," Michael replies, "Giddy-up."

Alex lines them up under the leg bone, and Michael can easily stretch up and untie the string, but the arm bone is a little higher. As Michael is reaching for it, Alex jolts suddenly underneath him and whispers, "Did you just hear that?" Michael looks around but doesn't hear or see anything, so he concentrates once again on the task at hand, he unties the first knot when they both hear a branch snap, very close by. "Hurry up," Alex whispers, nervous energy jingling throughout his body. Michael concentrates and breaks the knot using his mind, grabbing onto it just in time to see a cloaked figure run right at them from the bushes, shrieking 'Heatheeeeerrrrr'.

"Ahhhhhhhhh" They scream in unison, as Alex loses his balance and they fall flat on the ground with an unceremonious thud. Wyatt's bent over wetting himself with laughter above them. "Man, I got you two babies real good, you thought the Blair Witch was coming for yas."

Michael would be in his face mouthing off if he didn't feel so winded, and he's surprised when Alex straightens up and gets in Wyatt's grill. Alex's voice is so low, Michael doesn't even catch what he says, but it makes Wyatt turn on his heels with a nasty 'whatever Manes' as he runs off, so he's pretty impressed. Alex turns back to him and offers him a hand up. "You okay? Sorry, I lost my balance." Alex looks away, embarrassed. Michael dusts himself off, picks up their collection of bones and grins. "Only two more!"

Alex snaps back into action. "Right, so we've been to the back, side and middle of the property. There are a few things at the front like Kyle's trampoline and dog kennels; maybe we try there next?"

Michael's so excited he runs off in the wrong direction. "Michael!" Alex yells, and points in the opposite direction. They laugh as he sprints back.

As soon as they make it round to the front, they spot another team crawling out from underneath the trampoline, and head straight over. Lucas and Rory only have two pieces of the skeleton; the body, and the arm bone that they've just retrieved from the trampoline. Michael crawls under and grabs their second last bone, while Alex takes pity on them and directs them to where the head is.

With only one leg bone to find, they start running, checking every nook and cranny as they go. After another ten minutes, they've checked the whole front of the property and come up frustratingly empty. They can see the table of delicious looking treats through a window, calling to them as they round the other side of the main house. The victory's so close they can taste it.

"Oh god, what's that smell?" Alex says, pinching the bridge of his nose and pulling a face.

"What? It's not me!" Michael sniffs at the air, also pulling a face. "It smells like blood and bone, that stuff you put on your garden to help it grow, Mrs Evans uses it on her roses."

"Wait, you said roses." Alex repeats, mind clicking into gear, "Mrs Valenti has roses against the side of the house, let check them!"

"Why would we?" Michael asks baffled, sprinting after Alex.

When they reach the roses, Alex is pointing and laughing. "That's why!"

Six plastic skeleton bones are poking out of the dirt, amongst the roses that smell of blood and 'leg' bone. Mr Valenti is no doubt quite proud of that one.

"Yes! Let's get inside and put it together," Michael enthuses, grinning from ear to ear.

They're the first back with all the pieces, and it takes them next to no time to assemble the skeleton and proudly hang it under the veranda. They're pumped up, happy and enjoying the win. Alex slings a loose arm over Michael's shoulder as they call out "Winners" into the night. Then they waste no time finding the table of sweets and treats to hoe into while they wait for the others to finish.

Just under an hour later, the last team make it back inside and produce their skeleton. When Alex thought he'd had enough sweets to last him a month, Kyle's mum appears in the doorway with a huge chocolate cake shaped like a skateboard. They all sing a terribly out of tune version of Happy Birthday to Kyle and then amongst them, manage to devour three-quarters of the cake. 

It's just ticked over eleven, and yawns and eye rubs are beginning to appear, so Mr Valenti suggests a far less disturbing movie before lights out. They all pile back into the den and huddle down into their respective sleeping bags as the beginning of E.T. plays on the television. "Have you seen this before?" Alex whispers, shuffling closer in his sleeping bag. Michael hasn't seen it before, but he knows it's about aliens and is probably wildly inaccurate. He shakes his head at Alex, "Nope."

Michael is enjoying the movie, as far fetched as it is, and Alex has obviously seen it a few times before considering his ability to quote numerous lines. Michael even loses it laughing when Gertie dresses E.T. in dolls clothing, but then E.T. starts to get sick, and Michael feels his stomach twist into knots. Even though E.T has Elliot, he's still an alien and all alone in this world. Michael attempts to emotionally distance himself from the film, reiterating to himself that it's just a movie, it's not real. But Michael is stuck here on earth, when all he's ever wanted since he hatched from his pod, was to go home. He tries so hard to keep the tears at bay; he knows crying in front of ten other kids will open him up to name-calling and teasing. He manages to hold his breath and swallow his sobs, but the tears still fall on the pillow below. His face is mostly concealed by the sleeping bag and his hands resting against his cheeks, but as E.T says, 'I'm right here," and points to Elliot's heart, he lets out a sniff. It sounds as loud as thunder to his ears, and he holds his breath mortified, just listening for signs that people noticed. 

A minute passes, and he lets out a shaky breath as E.T. sets off in his spaceship; sets off for his home. He bites his lip hard as another wave of tears begins to descend. It's at that moment that Alex's face appears right next to him. Michael can only just see through the tears blurring his vision, and the darkness of the den that Alex looks worried. 

"Are you okay?" Alex whispers extra quietly, so as not to draw any extra attention to Michael, even though he's pretty sure there are only three or so kids still awake. Michael knows he can't speak at this point, if he opens his mouth it will only make things worse, and he's happy to have Alex Manes think of him as a cry baby, as long as he keeps it a secret. So, he nods and hopes Alex will have the good sense to leave it alone.

Mr Valenti comes in with his torch and turns the television off, stage whispering that they all get off to sleep now. Michael snuggles down as far as he can into his sleeping bag and tries in vain to forget about the pit of sadness in his stomach. About half an hour passes, and sleep is still evading him. He rolls in Alex's direction, plumps his pillow viciously like it's offended him, and sighs as he re-settles hugging it. Beside him, Alex also shuffles about, and the next thing he knows, Alex is practically sharing his pillow.

"You know, I'm not going to tell anyone about before," he whispers, breath tickling Michael's cheek. He sounds sincere, and Michael wants to believe him, but in his experience in this life so far, people are not that nice. "Is it because you're adopted?" Alex asks, and against his better judgement, Michael finds himself answering with, 'Kinda.'

"Kyle told me once that you have to walk all that way home, that's pretty crappy, I kinda understand why you'd want to go back to your own home," Alex reassures.

The compassion makes Michael feel guilty, because he doesn't want to lie to him about all of this, so he ends up staying silent and takes comfort in Alex's presence and measured breathing. The silence drags out between them, but neither falls off to sleep, and Michael senses that Alex wants to say more.

"Alex?" Michael asks, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Alex shuffles closer still, forearm coming to rest alongside Michael's. "Mr Valenti lets me stay here sometimes," he confesses. He's silent for a moment before adding, "Sometimes my Dad gets really mad at me and.." he stops short of telling the whole truth of his father's abuse, still fearing the repercussions. "It's better for me, here," Alex concludes.

Michael sighs, how could someone so empathetic toward others be treated so awfully by his birth father. He's actually kind of mad about it.

"So, we're friends now, I guess." Alex decides, grinning into the dark.

"Yeah," Michael agrees, "Friends." And with that they fall off to sleep, sharing a lumpy pillow.

They don't become instant best friends after the party, but they do occasionally spend lunch together. Alex is someone Michael trusts and can feel safe around. And when you grow up the way he has, that feels significant.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos always appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks, Dee for the read through xxx
> 
> I'm Malex-Love-Letters on Tumblr, and I love a chat. Have a fabulous Halloween! xx


End file.
